MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida Power & Light and Spain-based FCC Environmental Services are joining forces to pitch a new waste-to-energy incinerator for Miami-Dade, asking county commissioners to approve an interim agreement as soon as next month.
The proposal merges what had been competing plans. FCC was previously selected by Pinellas County to operate and maintain its waste-to-energy facility, while FPL does not currently operate an incinerator.
“You have the upfront land payment at the close of the long-term agreement, but there are no financial burdens to the county for the development of the facility until it goes operational which we project in the 2034 timeline,” said Matthew Cozzo, director of FPL development.
Developers identified two possible locations for the plant: a 65-acre site in the county’s rock mining area near the Broward County line at U.S. 27 and Northwest 137th Avenue and Northwest 178th Street, proposed by FPL, and a roughly 77- to 80-acre site near Northwest 124th Avenue and Northwest 154th Street in the Hialeah area, currently used as a truck parking lot, proposed by FCC. Representatives said both sites are large and could support future expansion.
The land could cost about $1 million per acre and would also include royalty fees -- drawing swift pushback from commissioners.
Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins said she would not support paying a royalty fee. Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez called a royalty deal “completely unacceptable.”
Cohen Higgins also questioned why the county would purchase private land when county-owned property may be available.
“How is it in the best interest of the taxpayer of Miami-Dade County to buy a private piece of property when we have land that we own?” Cohen Higgins asked.
Commissioner Raquel Regalado warned that using county-owned land could reopen debates about siting the facility near communities such as Doral or the old Opa-locka West Airport site.
She said, “A county-owned site opens the door again to Doral to Opa-locka West, which is why I mentioned that currently in Tallahassee, they are considering a preemption which would, first, not allow us for two miles which means nothing in Miami-Dade County, it was amended today to one mile, but we would still have restrictions potentially from the state.”
That legislation is being sponsored by Broward lawmakers in both the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate.
You can read the proposal below:
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